Getting your mitts on tickets for the hottest music and sporting events has never been more difficult, largely thanks to the wonders of the internet. Gigs by acts such as U2 and the Rolling Stones now routinely sell out in a matter of minutes, and the Glastonbury festival tickets went in just over three hours last Sunday. A few days earlier it emerged that all 130,000 tickets for the V festival — this year being headlined by Oasis, Scissor Sisters and Franz Ferdinand — had been snapped up, and weekend tickets for this year's Reading festival also went in record time.

Meanwhile, you'll struggle to get a ticket for this summer's Ashes series, even though the first Test match isn't until the end of July. And everyone knows how difficult it is to get into Wimbledon.

But don't abandon all hope. There are ways of getting into some of these events for free that don't involve tunnelling under the site, attempting to scale the fences or following the example of Aaron Barschak, who gate-crashed Prince William's 21st birthday party dressed as Osama bin Laden.

Here we outline how you can work for a ticket, offer some tips to help you strike it lucky when events go on sale and look at ways of getting hold of tickets once the "sold out" sign has gone up — and the pitfalls to beware of.

Every year, many thousands of people earn their admission to some of Britain's most popular events by working as stewards, litter-pickers, behind the bar or in the kitchens.

Oxfam will have 1,400 stewards working at Glastonbury this year. Until a couple of years ago the charity was still recruiting right up until a few days before the festival, but with tickets becoming increasingly like gold dust, it says it is now getting easier and easier to find people. This year, Oxfam gave priority to those who have worked for the charity before at festivals. It then "went live" to the public on March 1 with a notice on its website — and had filled all the remaining steward places by March 2.

The stewards work three eight-hour shifts in return for entry to the festival. The rest of the time is theirs to do what they want — catch some bands, sunbathe/roll around in the mud (delete according to weather), or watch the dawn break from the stone circle.

The main job of the stewards is to stand at the gates checking tickets and handing out welcome packs — and admitting the odd megastar on to the site. "Last year we nearly stopped Paul McCartney from getting in," recalls Oxfam's stewards co-ordinator Judy Pennock.

However, there is a small catch: the stewards have to hand over a deposit of £130, which they get back once they have done their shifts. But then there are the perks: a separate camping area with catering, hot showers, and — perhaps best of all — their own toilets.

While Oxfam has all the stewards it needs for Glastonbury and this summer's Carling-sponsored Reading Festival, it is still recruiting for several other events including the WOMAD world music festival taking place in Reading on July 29-31, and Reading's sister festival in Leeds on the weekend of August 26-28. It is looking for about 70 stewards for Womad and 150 for Leeds. There is more variety to the work on offer at these festivals — everything from directing the traffic and assisting disabled festival-goers to overseeing the camp sites and staffing the tents to ensure crowd safety.

It can be hard work but Ms Pennock says: "People really enjoy the job." And they know they are doing their bit for a good cause. Oxfam last year received a donation of £200,000 for providing the stewards. But Ms Pennock adds: "We want people who are reliable and honest rather than those who are just blagging it."

Another vital festival job is that of the "litter-picker," who goes around clearing up the paper cups, makeshift bongs and other rubbish left behind by revellers. One of the main organisations in this, ahem, field is Network Recycling, a not-for-profit company that is currently recruiting volunteers and paid staff for a variety of events this summer — its website is eventrecycling.co.uk

This year's V Festival taking place at Hylands Park, Chelmsford, and Weston Park, Staffordshire, on August 20-21, may be sold out, but there are work opportunities. For full information about litter-picking and other jobs, go to vfestival.com/vfestival/pages/recruitment.cfm

Meanwhile, if you've ever been to a pop festival or a big rally, chances are you've probably bought a drink at a Workers Beer Company tent — so how about working behind the bar in one? The Workers Beer Company (workersbeer.co.uk) raises funds for trade unions and other organisations, and runs beer tents at events including Glastonbury and the Reading and Leeds festivals. Provided you are a member of a trade union or a campaigning group, you can apply to go on to its database and then work as a volunteer at events. You typically do a six-hour shift per day — the rest of the time is yours — and you get paid, too, but the money goes to your union or organisation. It is taking about 1,000 people to Glastonbury, but is still welcoming applications for Reading and Leeds.

Qualified medical staff who fancy a stint working at a festival should contact the charity Festival Medical Services (they are fully booked for this year, according to the website, festival-medical.co.uk), while there may be market traders doing the festival circuit who need staff.

On the sports side, large numbers of temporary staff are taken on every year to ensure the Wimbledon tennis fortnight goes smoothly. A London company called FMC is the official caterer to the Wimbledon championships and employs about 1,600 staff during the two weeks. It is looking for "food service assistants," chefs, bar staff, porters and others. So if you don't mind the fact that you'll probably never want to see another strawberry again after the fortnight is up, go to fmccatering.co.uk/ wimb_staff.html to find out more.

Meanwhile, the MCC is still recruiting catering staff to work at Lord's on matchdays during the 2005 season, including the England v Australia Test on July 21-25. For more information go to lords.org/articles/ar0000000481.asp